FREE NFLX Thursday Selection
Thursday, August 10, 2006
4:30 PM PT/7:30 PM ET
Opinion Selection
PHILADELPHIA -3 over Cleveland (Buy the half point)
Playing their 2nd game in 5 days, the Eagles host the Browns on Thursday after dropping Sunday night's Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio, 16-10. Philadelphia's first-string appeared only briefly against the Raiders, playing well before yielding to backups. The starting unit is again not expected to play past the first quarter and will be without several skill players.
Meanwhile, Cleveland’s health situation has reached crisis level on the offensive line. Starting right tackle Ryan Tucker is out. Todd Washington, who was signed last week as a free agent, retired and rookie Isaac Sowells suffered a sprained ankle Friday and could be out several weeks. The situation is so dire, the Browns asked backup defensive lineman Andrew Hoffman to switch from defense to offense - specifically to guard – because of being so thin.
Then there’s the center position. They have already lost starting center and top free agent pickup LeCharles Bentley for the season. Bentley's would-be backup, Bob Hallen, is reportedly contemplating retirement after suffering back spasms this past week. Now competing for starting center duties will be former Eagle Alonzo Ephraim, who was out of football until this past week, and Ross Tucker, who was acquired from the Patriots via trade on Tuesday. Whoever starts at center against the Eagles will initially snap to starting QB Charlie Frye, who has battled a thumb injury during camp but is expected to be in the lineup.
Youth is certainly the story at quarterback for the Browns, who made a surprising move in the offseason, sending experienced veteran Trent Dilfer to San Francisco in exchange for Ken Dorsey. The ex-49er is expected to compete with 2nd-year Derek Anderson for the backup spot, but neither Anderson nor Dorsey has separated himself as a reliable #2 in the first two weeks of training camp, and each has struggled in a different area.
Dorsey actually has more game experience than Anderson and Frye combined, but has struggled with mistakes and reads in camp, partially because he’s learning a new offense. In addition to a few interceptions in practices, Dorsey threw two more picks in Friday’s scrimmage.
Anderson is more of a conventional, strong-armed quarterback. But he’s had problems with batted balls at the line and fumbled snaps, both of which could be traced to inexperience or poor mechanics. It will be nearly impossible for Anderson or any of the Browns QBs to develop chemistry with the rotating door the Browns have at center.
We certainly look to play against a team auditioning a new center. Due to every play requiring a successful snap and the center’s role of making blocking calls for the entire offensive line, the center is easily the most undervalued position on the field by bettors. The fact that the Eagles love to blitz, even in the preseason, will only make life more difficult for Cleveland’s offense.
Meawhile, Philadelphia’s coaching staff will be looking for much better production from their QB Rotation behind McNabb, as Jeff Garcia, Koy Detmer, and Timmy Chang were disappointing. The Eagles turned the ball over five times against the Raiders, which did not sit well with Andy Reid. We expect Philly to take much better care of the ball in this game.
Despite losing the Hall of Fame Game, the Eagles should not be taken lightly in these exhibition games. "We came with a different attitude," Donovan McNabb said. "This is something that’s serious for us. We were prepared to come out and have a good showing. This preseason is something that we’re going to take very seriously. We’re going to try to take steps forward.â€
With their experienced back-up QBs playing better, the offense taking care of the football, and the defense wreaking havoc on the Browns crippled o-line, we look for the Eagles to finish this game in stronger fashion to record the SU & ATS win.